Survey: 41% of employees feel “shamed” for taking vacation

Do you ever get nervous before asking your employer for permission to use your vacation days? You’re not alone.

Do you ever get nervous before asking your employer for permission to use your vacation days?

New research from Alamo Rent A Car found that this year, 41% of employees reported feeling like they were being “vacation shamed” — which the study defines as “being made to feel a sense of shame or guilt by coworkers, their supervisor or their employer for taking time off to go on vacation.”

Other results showed that social media plays a large role in not only how people plan out their vacations, but also how well they rate them. Thirty-nine percent of families say social media images have affected what they decide on for vacation, and 23% of those surveyed have witnessed a family vacation go off the rails because of social media overall.

Rob Connors, vice president of brand marketing for Alamo Rent A Car, commented on the research in a statement:

“The majority of U.S. families believe the biggest benefit of taking a family vacation is spending time together. But many people aren’t taking full advantage of their relaxation and quality time together on vacation because they’re distracted by work and, more recently, by social media.”

“Vacation shaming” happens in the office:

27% say they’ve “vacation shamed” people they work with

17% say feeling like they’re experiencing this could potentially stop them from “planning” to or taking time off

Work and social media distractions

16% say it’d be impossible for them to “unplug from social media” when vacationing with family

43% “wish” it was possible to take time off from social media platforms

59% report working during time off, and 57% do so because they’d rather not be swamped when they return

Social media pressure:

16% of families surveyed reported that their time off was impacted “by how good” the images would look like online

20% of families “sometimes feel pressured to” put up pictures of family vacation so other users know they’re having fun

25% of parents feel this way, vs. 14% of those without children

34% of millennials say they’ve made vacation plans according to “how good” they think the pictures would look online

Social media’s influence on free time:

60% of millennials say their time away from work is impacted by it, versus 29% of those outside that generation

56% of families use Facebook for vacation ideas

39% of families say social media images have impacted what they do on vacation

Workplace vacation days:

40% think they “need to justify” taking time off

51% of employees with paid time off used it all

57% of dads didn’t use all days, compared to 40% of moms

After vacation, it’s not over:

93% of moms think more free time after family vacation is necessary “to recover” from it, versus 88% of dads

26% surveyed think going on vacation with their families takes more of a toll on them “than relaxing”